National Assembly delegates propose to postpone the time of imposing special consumption tax on beer

On the morning of November 22, discussing in groups about the draft Law on Special Consumption Tax (amended), delegate Phan Duc Hieu (Thai Binh delegation) said that special consumption tax on alcohol is divided into 2 types, including over 20 degrees of alcohol and under 20 degrees of alcohol.

"From the consumer's perspective, I find it unreasonable because strong alcohol levels will be consumed less, while light alcohol levels will be consumed more. This division creates an opportunity to introduce alcohol levels in the form of cheaper, stronger alcohol. I suggest that the tax rate for alcohol should be unified because alcohol with low alcohol levels consumed more will result in high alcohol levels," said delegate Hieu.

With beer, there are types with alcohol content lower than 20 degrees, 11 degrees, 5-6 degrees, but all of them are taxed at a much higher rate than wine with alcohol content below 20 degrees. Delegates think that this is also unreasonable.

Delegate Phan Duc Hieu (National Assembly delegation of Thai Binh province).

Mr. Hieu suggested that special consumption tax should only be imposed on beer after 2026 because in the past 3-4 years and in the next few years, we have continued to implement fiscal policies to support businesses such as tax reduction, other forms of support... while applying special consumption tax from 2026 is unreasonable.

"When applying this tax to the environment, businesses must have a certain amount of time to restructure their products. Especially for some businesses that only sell beer, if we do not give them reasonable time, their only path is gradual decline. Therefore, it will take at least 2 years for them to produce zero-degree beer and other drinks to replace it," delegate Hieu proposed.

Regarding sugary soft drinks, the delegate said that there should be no tax because they are very important to life. According to Mr. Hieu, although the goal is to reduce sugar consumption through soft drinks and to reduce the risk of obesity, we consume sugar through many other things such as smoothies, coffee... So even if we reduce the consumption of soft drinks, it will not reduce obesity, not to mention that our consumption of soft drinks is not significant.

On the other hand, reducing soft drink consumption will have a big consequence, which is not increasing taxes. If the soft drink industry reduces production, it will also affect 20 other industries such as marketing, transportation, etc. "The first scenario of reducing soft drink production will not reduce obesity but will damage the economy. The second scenario is that businesses do not reduce production but are taxed, so consumers will have to bear additional costs," said Mr. Hieu.

Delegate Duong Khac Mai participated in the discussion in the group.

Agreeing with delegate Hieu's opinion that the special consumption tax on beer should be postponed, delegate Nguyen Van Than (National Assembly delegation of Thai Binh province) emphasized that the words beer and wine should not be combined.

"Beer is a thirst quencher. Taxing is dangerous and has a huge impact on other sectors, especially businesses. Producing a drop of beer requires a lot of support, not to mention the huge budget revenue. A company that has just emerged since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic is taxed. I think tax collection is right, but leave option 1," said delegate Nguyen Van Than.

Meanwhile, delegate Duong Khac Mai (Dak Nong delegation) said that the use and abuse of alcohol causes many serious social consequences such as traffic accidents, injuries, domestic violence, loss of security and order, and increasing the gap between rich and poor. According to the report, the use of alcohol in Vietnam remains high and tends to increase rapidly.

"Therefore, to reduce alcohol and beer consumption and protect public health, I choose option 2 according to the specific tax rate roadmap of the draft," delegate Duong Khac Mai proposed.

Regarding the regulation of a 10% tax rate for soft drinks according to Vietnamese Standards with sugar content over 5g/100ml, delegate Duong Khac Mai said that it is necessary to have a general assessment of the rate of overweight and obesity in Vietnam linked to which main cause. At the same time, it is necessary to assess which population group uses the most sugary soft drinks with sugar content of 5g/100ml. If the use of soft drinks and sugary soft drinks is really the main cause of overweight and obesity, there must be regulations to limit this problem.

Regarding alcohol and beer products, the draft Law on Special Consumption Tax (amended) proposes two options, of which the Government is leaning towards the second option. Specifically, regarding alcohol products with an alcohol content of 20 degrees or higher, the Government is leaning towards increasing the tax rate from the current level of 65% to 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, 100% each year in the period from 2026 to 2030.

For alcohol products under 20 degrees, the Government is leaning towards increasing the tax rate from the current level of 35% to 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70% each year in the period from 2026 to 2030.

For beer, the Government is leaning towards increasing the tax rate from the current level of 65% to 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, 100% each year in the period from 2026 to 2030.

According to the Government, option 2 will have a stronger effect on reducing the affordability of alcohol products, have a better impact on reducing the rate of alcohol use and reducing the related harms caused by alcohol abuse.

Wisdom

Source: https://vtcnews.vn/dai-bieu-quoc-hoi-de-xuat-lui-thoi-gian-danh-thue-tieu-thu-dac-biet-voi-bia-ar908947.html